Wickes and Screwfix announce major fundraising initiatives, with Wickes alone hitting £1m milestone for Leukaemia Research, while Focus DIY plans to help break a World record.
Two major DIY chains have ramped up their fundraising activities in recent months to help raise record amounts for their chosen charities.

Home improvement retailer Wickes raised £110,000 with a charity dinner held in London on behalf of Leukaemia Research. Tickets to the event, which took place at the Science Museum on November 18, and a raffle, auction and appeal on the night helped raise the impressive funds and meant that Wickes hit its £1m milestone for the charity.

Wickes managing director Jeremy Bird said: "It's been a momentous year of achievements, with colleagues taking on marathons, organising fun days and even climbing Kilimanjaro to raise money for Leukaemia Research. To get to the £1m mark is fantastic, especially as it's our first ever charity partnership."

Screwfix staff and customers have also raised a massive £50,000 through auctions, pop concerts, football matches, skydives and bungee jumps - all in the name of testicular cancer.

The "Don't' Be a Spanner, Check Your Nuts' campaign kicked off earlier this year, fronted by comedian Paddy McGuinness. Since then, charity t-shirts have been flying off the shelves and a new range of beanie hats will be going on sale in trade counters and on screwfix.com in the next week to help boost the fundraising total.

Meanwhile, Focus DIY has teamed up with BBC Breathing Places to take part in Tree O Clock - a nationwide attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the most trees planted in a single hour.

The record currently stands at 653,164. In order to smash the figure, the BBC has pledged more than 50,000 trees for Focus to give away to its customers.

The world record attempt is due to take place at 11am on December 5, when people across the country will be encouraged to do 'one small thing' for nature by planting a tree.